I Became a Disaster-Class Sorcery Genius

Why Are You Coming Out From There? (1)

"Don't tell me, did you poison the drinking water...?"

Han Soyeon lightly shook her head at my instinctive question, which slipped out as the thought flashed through my mind: Han Soyeon poisoned the drinking water!

"Of course not. I don't have a good opinion of those who stood by while I was bullied, but even so, I wouldn't go that far."

At her words, Kim Dojun relaxed a little, nodding as if to say, 'Well, of course.'

"But, you know, even if I had put something in the water, the amount would have been too little to have much effect."

"..."

Hearing that, Kim Dojun froze mid-motion.

'Then, if it had been effective...?'

"So I just used an appropriate amount."

Kim Dojun cautiously asked, "... Don't tell me, did you give all this water to Ju Yu-dam's gang?"

"Nope. Not all of it."

"Not all of it...?"

"Yes. If I made them drink all this water, they'd die right away and I wouldn't get to have any fun tormenting them. Why would I let them off so easy?"

Han Soyeon grinned broadly as she said this.

"... So then?"

When Kim Dojun found his mouth opening without his consent, Han Soyeon answered.

"I spread it on bread and gave it to them."

"... Bread?"

"Yep. If I bullied them openly, the instructors would just notice. So I thought, maybe I'd pretend to apologize while at it. I spread it like jam on their bread."

It was sooo hard to get that fine balance—painful but not life-threatening, you know? I practiced a lot! Han Soyeon added as an afterthought.

"...."

She told the story with the same tone someone might use to say, it's so hard to measure the right water for ramen, and Kim Dojun found himself once again staring blankly at her.

"... So, did those guys eat the bread you gave them?"

"Of course."

"... Without any suspicion?"

"I showed them a little demonstration of what would happen if they didn't eat it."

Crunch!

"...."

Hearing a sudden sound behind her as she spun around with a smile, Kim Dojun fell silent, then finally spoke.

"... By any chance, have you been hearing any strange voices in your ear lately?"

"What do you mean?"

"For example, 'give yourself up to revenge' or something like that."

Listening to Han Soyeon's deeds, he couldn't help but wonder if she'd already been possessed by an evil spirit, so he asked.

"Nope? Nothing like that."

At her answer, Kim Dojun's face turned a bit more serious.

'So, evil spirits really don't attach to just anyone.'

He realized again, a new lesson learned.

'If she's like this without even having an evil spirit...'

He thought, maybe the evil spirit meant for Han Soyeon would just sigh and give up if it saw her as she is now.

"... So, is your revenge going well?"

"What do you mean~ It's just started."

"... Is that so?"

"Yeah, I've only come up with ideas so far. Especially for Ju Yu-dam... That bitch needs a lot more work."

Han Soyeon's eyes gleamed slyly.

"Come to think of it, you said last time you'd started on Ju Yu-dam."

"Yes, I'm a bit worried, actually. She already seems to be having a hard time lately."

"... You're worried about someone you're bullying?"

"Well, it's only been a few days. I don't want her to break down too soon~"

"...."

What on earth was he supposed to say to that? Kim Dojun debated for a moment, then just nodded.

"Good luck with that."

If she were bullying some innocent bystander, it would obviously be a problem, but her target was Ju Yu-dam's gang.

They had tormented Han Soyeon horribly for years.

And since Kim Dojun knew about it from the game, he had no intention of stopping her.

Payback was only fair.

Besides, the faster Han Soyeon handled those jerks, the faster Kim Dojun could make his own escape.

As if pleased by his answer, Han Soyeon beamed.

"Having someone who understands is really nice."

With that, she added,

"Well then, I'll come find you again after I've made them suffer some more."

She took light steps, genuinely in a good mood, and soon disappeared.

"... An understanding person?"

Kim Dojun tilted his head at Han Soyeon's words, then shrugged and started walking toward the path where Shin Se-yeon was waiting.

####

After finishing his usual training with Shin Se-yeon,

"Haah, haah...."

Kim Dojun spoke to Shin Se-yeon, who was sprawled out as if she might die.

"... You're going to skip training for a week?"

"Midterms are next week. I need to start getting ready."

"So even a genius who traded away her morals needs to study, huh."

"... Are you teasing me on purpose?"

"Didn't you call yourself a genius before?"

"I still have to review! Every time I train with you, I collapse and can't even find time to study afterward!"

"Weak."

"Ha! And you? You think you don't need to prepare at all?"

Apparently rested, Shin Se-yeon sat up and retorted.

Kim Dojun watched her and thought,

'Midterms, huh... Definitely an important event.'

Though he wasn't interested in studying, he was well aware the midterm was coming up next week.

'I don't care about the score, but if I bomb this test, I probably won't be able to get a single room in the dorm next semester.'

But there was a catch.

'The Sorcery Institute's midterm is 100% written.'

Finals would include some practicals, and from the second semester onward, classes would focus more on practical sorcery. But for first years, the midterm was always written-only.

In other words, given he was bad at academics, his grades were pretty much guaranteed to tank.

Of course, he'd been diligently(?) learning sorcery from the Sorcerer King's book lately, but that alone wasn't enough to aim for first place.

Still, Kim Dojun wasn't that worried about the upcoming midterm.

No, actually—

"Of course. Even if the test were tomorrow, I wouldn't get a single question wrong."

He was so confident it came out naturally.

'Because I have a way.'

Shin Se-yeon frowned as if in disbelief at Kim Dojun's confidence and spoke up.

"... Do you even know how hard the exam is?"

"Of course."

He nodded, recalling settings he'd seen when playing Sorcery Killing Technique.

'The Sorcery Institute's midterm is so difficult that even active sorcerers would struggle to solve it.'

To put it bluntly, the test was just insanely hard.

Watching Kim Dojun reply with such certainty, Shin Se-yeon let out a dry chuckle, then spoke.

"If you're that confident, want to make a bet?"

"A bet?"

"Yes, a bet! If you get every problem right on the midterm, I'll do anything you want!"

She proposed it, certain it would never happen.

"Deal."

Kim Dojun nodded without hesitation.

Shin Se-yeon smiled and continued.

"But! If you get even one problem wrong, you have to tell me your real reason!"

"My reason?"

"Yeah, don't just say 'none of your business' like before—tell me your real motive for helping me!"

Though she'd followed Kim Dojun's training, Shin Se-yeon was always curious.

What exactly motivated him to help her?

That's why she set such a condition.

Kim Dojun quickly agreed.

"Sure."

With his acceptance, Shin Se-yeon grinned as if she'd caught him.

No matter how much of a prodigy Kim Dojun was, not a single student had ever gotten a perfect score on the Sorcery Institute's midterm before.

"Don't forget that promise."

With that, their training for the day ended completely.

####

For first-years, the sixth week at the Sorcery Institute passed more quietly than week one or two.

Quite naturally, the reason was the upcoming midterms in week seven.

The instructors began giving free time to prepare for midterms starting Wednesday, and the classrooms, which had grown noisy with faction rivalry, now held a quiet and tense atmosphere—even during break times.

But even in that tense classroom, Kim Dojun stayed much the same as always.

On Thursday after class, as he was heading back to the dorm and browsing Sorcery-Institute on his smartphone, Kim Dojun stumbled upon a particularly interesting post.

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[Sorcery-Institute Incident Board]
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Title: Does anyone know why Ju Yu-dam's been so dead quiet lately?
Author: TheSeasonoftheFoxWillCome

Same as the title. She was always running her mouth and messing with everyone, but lately, she's been all quiet like a mouse. Anyone know what's up?

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6 comments.

ㅇㅇ : lol judging by this question, you must be from Class D, but yeah I'm curious too. Those guys always used to act up but recently they've just shut up. If you look closely, they all seem down too.
ㄴ ㅇㅇㅇ : fr, did they get beat up or something? They're so quiet lol
ㄴ ㅇㅇ : Now that you mention it, I think it started after they got thrashed by some girl. Ju Yu-dam didn't look the same the next day either.
ㄴ ㅇㅇㅇ : Some aren't even coming to class anymore. I heard they're not even in the hospital—they're just not showing up.
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"...."

Rather than interesting, the post was just visual proof that Han Soyeon's revenge was progressing step by step.

Kim Dojun found himself impressed again by Han Soyeon as he thought,

'How exactly is she tormenting them?'

Though he'd heard some details from Han Soyeon herself, he'd never actually seen it for himself, which made him curious all over again.

'... Come to think of it, there's probably no benefit in knowing more.'

As he recalled a few things Han Soyeon had said, Kim Dojun found himself making a strange face.

If what she told him was all true, then even her destined evil spirit of revenge, kuniz, would probably show up and say, 'What the hell is this?'

'... The cyanide bread was shocking enough.'

Honestly, when he first heard the idea, he almost smacked his forehead. Was it even possible to torment someone worse than that?

'Truly... Some people are just born to be the perfect vessel for an evil spirit.'

As he was mulling that over on his way to the dorm,

Over by the walking path near the Sorcery Institute's double rooms for first-years...

"Kyaaaaaaa!!! Gasp!"

A shriek echoed through the area.

"Did you know this, everyone?"

In between the screams—

"If someone gets shot with a handgun—"

Han Soyeon, with a handgun in hand,

"—they don't die as easily as you think, apparently?"

was facing Ju Yu-dam's gang.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
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